The Eye of the Storm
by Rockrgrl4
Summary: Ino Yamanaka is trapped inside her apartment while a terrible storm plagues Konoha, and an unexpected guest shows up at her door. She loves him, and he loves her, but will an illness and a storm help the two hearts finally become one? ChoxIno
1. Chapter 1

Heyy!

So it's me again, FINALLY updating! Although this wasn't on my profile list or, you know, even PLANNED on being written (LOL), it was one of those things I just HAD to write. You see, I was in study hall today, and had just finished my homework. I had about 10 minutes left of the period left, and I just started writing. Then this idea came to mind, and it was SO good and I knew I could really do something with it. So here it is-my InoxChouji two-shot, The Eye of the Storm.

* * *

Lightning struck over the lush green forests of Konohagakure, illuminating the many structures and homes inside the village's gates with a very brief and eerie glow. Rain fell from the sky in a ceaseless assault, each drop plummeting to the earth with enough force to shatter glass. The resounding thunder echoed through the hills and forests, making the woodland creatures cower in fear, and the citizens of Konoha buckle down in their homes, barely withstanding nature's full wrath.

In other words, it was a hell of a storm.

Ino Yamanaka thought no different, as she curled up on her window seat, calmly watching the onslaught of the storm happening just outside her window. A single large, fluffy white blanket with brightly colored polka dots was draped over the blonde, and she was clutching onto a steaming mug of hot chocolate between her frozen fingers. The mug was radiating with delicious warmth, and the smell of chocolate from the drink invaded her nostrils, promising temptation and succulence. Bringing the cup up to her lips, the kunoichi barely suppressed a moan of pleasure as she tasted the chocolate on her tongue, the heat from the drink spreading to the tips of her toes. She was incredibly comfortable and perfectly content with sitting there after a long day of training, watching the rain fall onto the streets of Konoha. Currently, she was staring at the panel of her glass that composed her window, watching the water droplets as they splattered one by one on the pane, and raced each other down. It was very relaxing.

She glanced around her tiny apartment, and smiled in earnest. Her parents had really outdone themselves when they picked out the place. It was a surprise gift for her eighteenth birthday, and surprised the kunoichi was indeed. She had expected her parents to make her stay in the Yamanaka compound, like most parents did when their children became of age, but when she asked them about it-her mother in tears and her father with a small smile on his face-their only reply was "You're an adult now. You should enjoy it while you still can, before you have to take over the clan."

As an added bonus, her parents (hereby meaning her mother) had picked out all of her furnishings, drapes, carpets and even put some pictures of their family up on the wall. Ino didn't mind, although she had added some of her own décor as well. Her mom did a good job on the interior design, Ino thought. After all, where else would Ino have gotten her own craftiness in such matters?

She knew she was spoiled, but darn it! What is so bad about living comfortably?

Shaking her head, the kunoichi stared down sadly at her hands. Especially since she was a shinobi. She liked living it up, and she _enjoyed _it. She might have been seen by others as spoiled or a tramp or easy, but that honestly wasn't the case. Ino Yamanaka _wanted_ things because she knew her life could end-rather abruptly, at that-because of her career choice. Ever since she was born (the heiress to the Yamanaka clan, no less) she had responsibilities, and one of them was becoming a shinobi. Although Ino didn't mind fighting for her village or putting her life on the line for them, that didn't mean that if she had had a choice, she would have became a kunoichi. She knew she probably would have chosen to live her life another way. In fact, she probably would have lived in her village as a citizen (as boring of a career choice that may be to some). However, all Ino Yamanaka really wanted in life was a chance to live life to its fullest, and to enjoy it-to start a family, fall in love, and grow old watching her kids grow up and die alongside her husband.

Really, was that too much to ask?

Ino pouted, still staring out the window. Geeze she was moody today. Stupid weather…

Thinking back over the course of the day, she remembered it had started raining when she and Chouji were walking home from training together. The two were talking and carrying on, making the occasional joke about their day or their teammate, Shikamaru Nara, who had been complaining about his assigned gate duty that morning.

-**Flashback-**

"You should have seen him, this morning, Ino. It was great. He showed up at my house early to tell me he couldn't train because he had been assigned _guard__duty_," the male chuckled, putting emphasis on the last two words, "I haven't seen Shika so worked up since Temari came to visit and made him 'get to know' her brothers while she went out with you girls. I swear every third word out of his mouth was troublesome."

Ino put her hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing too loudly. She could _so _see that.

Unfortunately, neither of the teens had seen the dark clouds gathering quite rapidly while they had been talking, and just as Ino had opened her mouth to reply, an invisible curtain in the sky had opened, and rained plummeted to the earth, soaking the two teens.

"Argh! What the hell?" The blonde angrily cried, as water soaked her perfectly straightened hair. She threw her hands up over her head in a futile attempt to protect it, and cried out, "Chouji!"

Instantly, the jounin had the blonde's hand tightly in his grasp and pulled her underneath a stone rain shelter that they had (miraculously) been passing at the time. As soon as they were out of the rain and under the safety of the shelter's roof, the two separated each picking at their drenched clothes as if it would help dry them off. Chouji hadn't seemed to mind his clothes being entirely soaked, but Ino collapsed to the ground, legs crossed, and buried her hands in her face.

"Why," the blonde whined, obviously near tears, "does something seem to happen every time I try to spend a little extra time on my appearance so I can look good? I put on a brand new white blouse? Naruto runs into me with a box of beef ramen. I re-paint my nails? Tsunade-sama puts me on trash duty with a couple of genin. I get a pedicure? I'm assigned a mission to the land of freaking Rocks, which is a six day run from here and it _totally _ruins it. And now this! Seriously! Why?" At this point, and despite the blonde's efforts, her sobs broke loose, and she finally let out her tears of frustration.

Her crying seemed to bother Chouji more than her current appearance, because as soon as she had started crying he was down on one knee and pulling her into a tight hug. He had tried to console her, muttering to her words of comfort, but she only cried harder.

**-End Flashback-**

Ino sighed, pulling her blanket closer. She was still incredibly cold, but sadly the blanket didn't even come close to providing the level of warmth that Chouji could…

Ino blushed and ducked her head down, taking another sip of her cocoa. Why did she just think that? Sure, she had a teeny tiny crush on him, but that wouldn't have brought on _that_ thought, right?

"Damn hormones," Ino mumbled under her breath, and as another resounding crack of thunder echoed throughout the village she sneezed. With that action, a thought suddenly came to mind: she could possibly be getting sick from getting drenched in the rain earlier. The blonde's eyes narrowed and she muttered even more darkly, "and damn storm."

A knock came at her door rather abruptly and Ino threw her head back and groaned in exasperation. Damn it, she was comfy! In a huff, she ripped off the alluring and warm blanket she had previously been curled up under and quickly set down her cup of hot chocolate. The pounding on the door became more frequent, and Ino yelled "just a minute!" while quickly reaching for a hairbrush. She hadn't combed it since she had when she'd dried if off to take a shower earlier. Taking a quick look in the mirror, she frowned at her wavy, brushed through hair. Maybe she could-

The pounding became louder still, and Ino grumbled in annoyance as she lurched toward the door. Seriously, what an asshole-

The door was jerked open by the blonde to reveal none other than Chouji Akimichi standing in the doorway to her apartment (soaking wet from his traveling through the rain to get there, no doubt), and then his lips were crashing down on hers in a fierce embrace.

Ino's body went rigid with shock. What the hell was going on? One second she had opened the door, and the next she was in his arms and he was kissing her as if his very life depended on it. Speaking of which…

He was still kissing her fiercely, even though she wasn't responding to it. It was like he was trying to make her kiss him back. Rather than fight it, Ino closed her eyes and relaxed into his tight hold. She knew she wasn't going to get out of _this_ kiss any time soon.

As if he had heard that thought, Chouji suddenly jerked back, tearing away from her as if she was on fire. His face was flushed, his eyes barely focusing on anything as they darted around the room anxiously. It was almost funny, actually, Ino thought to herself. For some reason, a flustered Chouji was…cute.

Pushing her thoughts aside, Ino let her shocked expression fade, and instead an uncharacteristic expression of utter seriousness crossed her face. She slowly started, "Chouji, why did you-", but was cut off by a heavy sigh from the Akimichi jounin, who finally let out the long breath he had been holding. He collapsed onto her couch, burying his face in his hands. Silence followed, and Ino received no answer. Soon enough, her limited patience ran out, and she opened her mouth to say something to try to draw an answer from him, eyes narrowing in annoyance, before she was cut off with a small, pleading voice begging for a moment. "I promise I'll tell you, Ino," the lost man said dejectedly, "but _please. _I just need a minute."

Silently, Ino conceded. Almost regrettably she watched her fearless teammate, who had stepped in front of her so many times on the battlefield to take hits for her, nearly lose control of himself and fall apart. Ino was incredibly worried about him, but she knew she couldn't ask. He had asked for time to collect himself, and she would give him that. Directly pressing him for answers seemed not only wrong, but inappropriate, as she saw his shoulders slumped over in an indirect display of regret. What did he regret though, kissing her? At that thought, Inner Ino shrieked at his stupidity…honestly, how could he be so stupid? How could she have _not_ liked it? She'd been harboring this crush on him ever since they had become jounin-when she had become both mature enough and old enough to see who he really was. It was one of her biggest regrets, not being able to see Chouji as the man he was until now. She was always such a bitch…so clouded by appearances and little things that didn't matter. A sudden thought nearly crushed the blonde. Was that was this was about? He regretted the kiss because of the way she had treated him in the past?

Suddenly the need to comfort him was overwhelming.

"Chouji, I-"

"I'm in love with you." He stated bluntly, as he finally let his large hands slide from his face. His eyes were devoid of all emotion, trying to keep out the hurt Ino could see nonetheless pouring through him.

Ino's mouth hung open at his admission-she truly didn't know what to say. "Chouji…"

He suddenly stood up and turned away from her, heading toward the door to make his exit, "I always have been. I just thought you should know" he said softly, before turning the knob and pulling open the door.

A hand came crashing onto the door at that moment, slamming it shut. Ino stood there next to him in the doorway, her eyes blazing. "_You won't even listen to me_," the blonde screamed, "_how_ are you supposed to know my answer if you won't _listen _to me?" She closed the distance between the two in a furious move, and took his face in both of her hands. "I love you too," she whispered, a mixture of love, annoyance, and lust reflecting in her eyes, before she stood up on her toes and kissed him passionately.

For several seconds, nothing much happened. Chouji had stiffened with shock in response, and remained completely rigid for several seconds before _finally_ responding to her kiss. He fervently returned the enthusiasm she had been trying to convey while he was still frozen with shock, and she could feel him pouring everything he had into this kiss. Ino moaned at the feel of him drawing her lithe body even closer, pressing her against his chest as he cradled her head gently within his hands. He slowly brought one hand around to cup her cheek, and the other almost immediately started to entangle itself in her long, unruly hair. This kiss…this was more than a kiss. This was pure, unadulterated passion.

Ino ended the kiss by drawing back, panting and trying to regain her breath. She could see Chouji trying to do the same, but the hungry, lustful and love-filled expression in his eyes had not yet gone away. If possible, it had actually intensified. He was leaning on one side for support, his hand on the door. It was obvious that he was trying to keep himself from falling over, and she didn't blame him. She felt like she was about to fall over too.

Of course, right at about that moment, her knees chose to give out and she was sent crashing to the floor. She could see Chouji lunging for her out of the corner of her eye, but there was also an inexplicable darkness seeping around the edges of her vision. She was having a hard time staying conscious, and her eyes started to roll to the back of her head. She only barely registered that she was being held in Chouji's arms, or that he was screaming her name in a deep panic when she finally blacked out.

* * *

Several hours later Ino awoke to utter darkness, and she resisted the urge to panic. Had she gone blind from her…whatever the hell it had been?

She remembered falling to the ground, and she remembered being kissed by Chouji-damn, that was a hell of a kiss-but beyond that she remembered absolutely nothing. Speaking of which, though, where was Chouji? But most importantly, _why couldn't she see anything?_

She tried to sit up, but her body was too weak to do so and it groaned in protest. She fell back down in a huff, frustrated at her weakened state, and slowly tried to lift her right arm.

'Yes!' She inwardly cheered, as she succeeded in lifting it. However, she found even that simple action left her nearly drained of energy and she started to really get worried. What exactly was so wrong with her whereas she could barely lift her arm?

She mentally encouraged herself to bring her arm up to touch her face, and found that it worked, although she was still physically drained. Her fingers traced around her eyes, and found a cloth stretched out over them.

'Thank god,' the blonde inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, 'for a minute I thought I was blind!'

Right then, an extremely anxious voice sounded from across the room-from her doorway, Ino accurately guessed-and it very rapidly got louder until it was right next to her face. "Ino," the owner of the voice breathed a sigh of relief, and a great deal of worry escaped from their tone, "thank Kami!"

Of course, Ino knew it was Chouji without ever hearing his voice. She could tell by the chakra signature, but it wasn't like he needed to know that. She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was raspy and dry, and she barely produced a sound. He had apparently heard her airy attempt at trying to speak, because within a millisecond of her attempt at trying to speak, he was sternly asserting himself to her, "Don't say anything-save your voice. I'll be right back with a glass of water. There's tea boiling, so I'll bring you some in a moment, okay? You just stay here and rest." She could feel something touch her cheek-his hand, she guessed-before she felt his chakra signature leave the room in a hurry. She could easily tell that he was anxious to get back into the room with her; he didn't want to leave her alone. Her cheeks started to tinge a brilliant pink at that thought. He really did love her, didn't he? She had never had anyone other than her parents care about her like that before, and the thought was…stupefying. She had never thought of herself as anything close to worthy of this treatment, especially since she had treated Chouji so horribly in the past, but it was obvious that he cared nothing for that now. He probably would have done this for her even back then, even when she was still a bitch to him, and cherished every moment, whereas if the situations were reversed and _he_ was sick, she would have done it but bitched the whole time. Of course, now Ino would take care of him and show him the same care and tenderness that he was showing her, but she knew that if she was still the young girl that she had once been, she would have _hated _the very notion of taking care of him.

God, she had never hated herself more.

At this point, Chouji came back in the room talking softly, "Ino, I brought your glass of water, and the tea will be done in a moment. Do you feel like eating something, or do you think you-" She could practically feel his entire body freeze.

In a second, he was kneeling on the bed next to her with both of his hand cupping her cheeks. The cloth was ripped off of her face, and she hesitantly opened her eyes so she could give them a chance to adjust to the light. When they had, she looked up and saw a completely terrified Akimichi.

"I thought I had helped," he agonized, and she could practically see the pure dread in his eyes, "I did everything she told me to, _everything, exactly_ as she told me to do it, and you still have a fever…Kami-sama I'm such an idiot! Ino, I'm so sorry-"

Ino tried to swallow what little saliva she had in her mouth, and barely managed to choke out, "Chouji-"

His eyes widened in realization, and he reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the glass of water he had retrieved, all the while apologizing because he hadn't given it to her sooner because of his foolishness. Ino resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and he gently reached his hand behind her head and tilted her head up so she could drink. She could plainly see that he was focusing his attention entirely on her in order to ensure that he wouldn't accidentally drown her. After a few sips, she made a noise of protest, and he immediately pulled the cup away and carefully let her head fall back onto her pillow. She closed her eyes in bliss, savoring the connection she had with him at this moment.

"Ino, I'm really sorry-" he started apologizing again, ruining the blonde's peaceful moment.

She slowly opened her eyes to gaze at him, and spoke, "It's okay, Chouji. Quit apologizing already." Already she was feeling much better and she was finding talking was much easier.

Slowly, Chouji nodded his head, a stray lock of his red hair cascading down his face as he bowed his head in what appeared to be defeat. Before Ino could say anything, though, he straightened back up and carefully sat on the side of her bed so that he could still be near her, but not as close as he was a moment ago. "How are you feeling?" He asked timidly, the back of his hand brushing over her cheek. His expression gave away only an incredible amount of concern, but he managed to keep everything else hidden away. There was more to this than meets the eye, Ino knew, but he was doing a fairly decent job of hiding whatever it is that was bothering him.

"Better," she honestly replied, "although I'm pretty drained I suppose. What happened, anyway? The last thing I remember is us kissing, and then I blacked out."

She almost giggled at the slight blush that came over his face at the mention of the kiss they had shared, but forced herself not to for his sake. She didn't want to embarrass him. He was really trying his best for her-she could plainly see that-and she didn't want to tease him about things right now. Besides-her inner giggled-she could always do that later.

"You…collapsed, and then you passed out," Chouji choked on the first part, as if he had been trying to swallow a rather large lump in his throat, "beyond that I didn't know anything. I was trying to make sure nothing was seriously wrong with you, and that you were still breathing. When I was satisfied you were okay, I still had you in my arms, but I called Tsunade-sama for help to see what I could do. I explained what had happened to you and she told me to keep you warm and give you some herbal tea when you wake up, because you probably got sick when we were out in the rain earlier."

Ino's eyes narrowed. Stupid storm…she knew it would make her sick! Wait, though…how would that have explained the blackout?

As if reading her thoughts, Chouji gave her a small, knowing smile and grasped her hand tightly within his own. "Tsunade-sama said that due to your sickness and our…erm…activities prior to your blackout. She assumed that it was just too much for your system to handle, and your body just sort of decided to…shut down, I suppose. She said you should be fine after some rest and some tea." He smiled once again and continued, "Thank god she was there, too. You look so much better than you did a few hours ago when you blacked out. I didn't even know it was possible for my heart to actually stop from fear, but it happened when you collapsed. She could barely understand me on the phone. Eventually she had to scream at me to calm down and stop babbling." He chuckled and raised the hand he had been holding to his mouth, and pressed a light kiss on it. Then he pressed kisses on each of her knuckles and went on from there until he switched hands, and Ino, still too weak to do anything, just closed her eyes and leaned back into her pillow, enjoying his touch.

She was almost back to sleep when she heard his voice address her again.

"Ino?" He whispered, not loud enough to wake her, but loud enough to get her attention if she was already awake, "If you're awake, I have your tea."

She hummed and tried to get up, only to find herself being pushed back down by a set of larger, stronger hands. His breath tickled her ear as he said, "let me", and he placed his hands on her sides and gently pulled her up to a sitting position. He handed her the teacup to see if she could hold it on her own, and she could see that he was delighted when she managed to hold it by herself and take small sips. A warm, relieved smile spread across his face, and he readjusted to where he was now sitting next to her. She took several slow, long sips from the teacup and lowered it, sighing in content. She already felt much, _much_ better.

Gently, she lowered her hand and balanced the teacup on her leg, hand still cupping it to keep it upright. She brought her steady gaze back up to the Akimichi male, and gave him a sweet smile that radiated warmth. She knew that he would understand what she was trying to tell him. Above all, she just wanted him to know that she was thankful for his help and care.

"Ino," he breathed, staring into her eyes, and his own eyes betrayed his expression of love, warmth, and worry. Ino really had no other choice, honestly, as she leaned forward, closed her eyes, and molded her lips over his.

A groan and an intake of breath sounded from the male jounin, as he slowly encircled his hands around her lithe body and eventually settled on grasping her upper arms. His lips slowly allowed themselves to move, and he leaned closer into the blonde, pressing himself even closer to her. Ino resisted the urge to moan at the contact, and instead settled for reaching her free hand up into his red locks, running her fingers through his hair. She could feel his shudder at the contact, and his lips pressing even harder into hers, desperately and hungrily deepening the kiss.

The two were so lost in one another, that neither heard the pounding on the door, or the creaking sound of it opening a few minutes later when no one came to open it. Footsteps echoed throughout Ino's apartment, and neither of them noticed anyone's presence in the house until Ino's bedroom door opened and quickly slammed shut. Startled at the noise, the two teens immediately broke apart, faces flushed from their recent activities and a little bit of embarrassment. Chouji got up from Ino's bed, gently releasing his grip on her, and made his way toward the door to see who had interrupted them. A sudden thought popped up into his head-someone had broken into Ino's house just now. Chouji instantly went into a rage, and tried to control his shaking body as he stomped out into her hallway. They had better have a _damn _good-

He turned the corner that led into her kitchen and saw none other than his best friend Shikamaru Nara standing there with a hand placed upon his forehead, sighing in annoyance.

"This is _so_ troublesome."

* * *

Back! So this _will _be a two-shot, just to let you all know! And there WILL be a lemon! So hang on kids, it's gonna be a bumpy ride! ;)

So basically I wrote this because Chouji needs some major love! If I try to search him on here, like 3 pages come up. 3 PAGES! That's pathetic! He is such a sweet, strong, and loving character, and it's a crime for him not to be acknowledged properly! So I hope you all enjoy this! ^^ and be sure to review and let me know what to think!

-K.

(P.S. sorry for the long wait eh heh heh… ^^')


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! Back again!

Sorry for the wait; I've been wanting to get this done and posted on here for a while, but I honestly just haven't had the time for writing. So now I've FINALLY got it done, and I hope you enjoy! Be sure to review, favorite, message me, etc. This fic hasn't been getting a lot of attention, and I want to know if it's something you guys don't like about it (if it's boring, just not interesting, etc). Either way, if you like it, love it, or don't really care, let me know! That way I can improve my writing, and give you a more satisfying read! Thanks and enjoy! :3

-K.

%$%~$T^~$!#%^&%!#$^!#%&#$%#^$*#%&!%*%*#%^$^&#$%W#$&$%$&

A week had passed since the storm and Chouji and Ino's confessions to each other. The days had been going by rather quickly, as the Leaf shinobi had been rather busy picking up fallen limbs and fixing buildings that had been damaged by Mother Nature's fury. Ino had recovered quite rapidly; only two days after she had fallen ill she was up and about with as much energy as ever. Naturally, Chouji had had everything to do with that.

Whenever he wasn't being called away to help with the village's recuperation from the storm, Chouji had been spending nearly all of his time at Ino's apartment, ensuring that she was well cared for during her time of need. Both of the previous two nights that he had spent at her house, he had slept in her apartment's living room on the couch, curled up under an old blanket of hers and using his arm as a pillow. Both nights he had awoken to cramps in his neck and back, but whenever he would wake up and go to her room to check on her, he would see her pale, drawn face-the epitome of illness-and his own pain would immediately disappear. He knew, _knew_ she was worth it. Therefore, he was determined to do his best for her.

Currently, the Akimichi heir was making his rounds around the village, scoping out the area and trying to see if there were any villagers or shinobi that needed any extra help. Tsunade-sama had called him into her office early this morning to instruct him to help repair residences in the eastern district, but it was only midmorning and everything was rapidly being revitalized. Already the village was starting to come together again, and it was very nearly restored to its original state so soon after the storm. With a small smile playing across his face, Chouji allowed his memories of the past two days replay in his mind, and he resisted the urge to chuckle out loud, knowing that if he did passersby would look at him as if he were a madman. One memory in particular amused the burly man greatly, but he didn't want to ever mention it again to his lovely girlfriend, for fear that she might be offended. Still smiling, he allowed himself a brief moment to remember her face in that instant, and the rest fell into place from there:

**-Flashback-**

"_Chouij, where are you?" Ino's bright face looked around the corner of her hallway and gazed into her kitchen, to where she knew he could be hiding. "Seriously," she frowned, "I need help with something."_

_Instantly dropping the knife he was holding, he ran over to Ino and was at her side in an instant. "Yes Ino?" Chouji's words came out in a rush, "What do you-"_

_Her lips collided with his, and her arms circled around his neck, keeping him firmly within her grasp. He moaned quietly and pulled her into his chest tightly, wrapping his arms around her back and lifting her up into midair, feet dangling, to where he could hold her to him. He kissed her back fiercely, never betraying his self-control, but not wanting to keep it completely chaste, either. After a few moments he pulled back from her lips slowly, and very reluctantly, so that they could both catch their breath. "Ino," he breathed, and he nuzzled his nose into her neck, breathing in her scent, "I love you." He stated it simply, but his tone let her know that there was, indeed, a wealth of meaning behind it._

_Ino giggled softly and pressed a light kiss to his forehead. "I love you too, Chouji, now will you please put me down? I still need help with this…"_

_Hesitantly Chouji placed his sick angel down, and after making sure her feet were safely planted on her kitchen floor, his gaze met hers, and he tenderly replied, "I'm sorry Ino. What do you need help with?"_

_Her gaze instantly shifted to the ground, and she bit her lip anxiously. Her face flushed pink with embarrassment, and she started, "Well, I-uhm, you see…"_

_As amused as he was, the Akimichi heir couldn't bring himself to grin at his obviously distraught girlfriend, so he instead brought his hand up to her cheek and rubbed it reassuringly against her skin there. This action seemed to give her the strength she needed to say what she needed to, because all at once she blurted out, "Can you open this for me?"_

_As soon as her question was asked she bent her head in shame and buried it into his chest, trying not to let him see her face actually flame from embarrassment. Honestly, if she wasn't so damn weak from this sickness, she wouldn't have had to ask this of him! Honestly, she was a kunoichi for god's sake, Jounin level at that, and she should be strong enough-sick or not-to open a stupid-_

"_Pickle jar?" Chouji asked, dumbfounded, as he found the object wrapped tightly in her hands and brought it to the light for closer inspection, "You need me to open a pickle jar for you?"_

_As if Ino's face wasn't already flaming from embarrassment, having to admit this truth out loud was even worse. Wordlessly, she nodded her head against his chest, eyes closed and still facing downward, as if she could shield some of her embarrassment from his view. Already she was expecting a loud laugh from him and possibly one or two teasing remarks, but the only thing she heard within the next few moments (much to the blonde's shock) was the pop of the container flying open. Her eyelids flew open and her gaze flew up to meet his, her flushed face long forgotten. "Chouji," she managed, her expression the epitome of bewilderment, "you…you just…why didn't you tease me? Or make fun of me? I wasn't expecting-"_

"_Then you'd better start expecting it, Ino," the Akimichi male replied firmly, pulling her away from him only enough to place the now opened jar into her awaiting hands, "I don't tease people for things they have no control over like most people do. You had trouble opening this jar because your strength is drained from your body having to fight your illness," he pressed a light kiss upon her forehead, "and that is absolutely no reason for you to be teased." His eyes were incredibly soft and warm as he addressed her, gazing into her own with a pure form of emotion that only she would ever see, "Even if you weren't sick, I still wouldn't give you a hard time for asking me to open something for you. Let me get something straight with you now, Ino. I will never, __**ever**__, purposely tease you about something. You deserve no such thing, and I am neither the sort of person to give such comments nor encourage them." He pulled her tightly back into his arms again and sighed as he felt her long blonde hair brush across his arms. "Besides," he added, as he absentmindedly raked a hand through the long, soft tresses of her hair, "I love you too much to ever hurt you like that."_

**-End Flashback-**

With the conclusion of that memory, Chouji could only chuckle at his girlfriend's insane cuteness, as he rounded another corner, revealing to him a whole street full of people waiting on help to fix their homes. Chouji stopped at the first family he saw, offering his assistance to them and letting the others know he would help them immediately after he took care of this particular family. As the grateful man led Chouji toward his damaged roof, shooing his wife and young daughter inside, Chouji was only thinking of Ino, his memories of his past few days with her, and what he would do for their unofficial first "date" when he visited her tonight.

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The mid-morning light shone in Ino's bedroom window, casting light, soft yellow rays across the blonde's face, her eyelids fluttered open to bask in the promise of a new day.

"Nghh," the blonde groaned, "Day already?"

An empty bedroom greeted her as an answer, and Ino reluctantly threw back the covers on her bed so she wouldn't be tempted to fall back asleep. This sluggish and fatigued state kept up until Ino had stepped outside of her apartment building, and the garish light of day greeted her. Almost instantly, she felt as if she had been awake for hours.

Carefully, Ino navigated through the streets of Konoha, avoiding the bags of merchandise that careless customers flung about, and their children. The little ones' excitement and running around apparently made them blind to both their surroundings and other people, as they were crashing into the bystanders congregated in the streets, and running into the sides of the stores and carts, laughing like crazy. Banners hung over the tops of the storefronts, while families and friends mingled and talked within the streets. It was as if the devastating storm that had hit just days ago had never happened.

A flash caught Ino's eye, and she immediately turned her head for a closer look. She was staring at a dango shop, and the flash had been a glint of sunlight that had bounced off the chef's mixing bowl as he skillfully flipped it. Smiling, Ino confidently strode into the restaurant and calmly placed an order for Chouji and herself. After all, she knew that he could come to check on her soon, and when he did, she wanted to surprise him. Evilly, her inner grinned as the perplexed chef handed her enough boxes of dango to feed a small family and gave her her change. The last thing the blonde consciously recalled before entirely plunging her mind into her scheming was the villagers giving the blonde horrified and awe-struck looks as she headed home, carrying her and Chouji's dango. In the past, nothing would have horrified and embarrassed the blonde kunoichi more, but now she found that she really wasn't bothered by it. Instead of answering their looks with one of her own, she hoisted the dango above her head and walked right in between two women that were angrily whispering about her "really letting herself go" with a grin. If anything, the two ladies' looks of shock and anger at her bravery amused and satisfied her more than anything else she could have or said or done, and the usually explosive-tempered kunoichi walked away without any more of a fight.

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It was now 7 o'clock at night, and the orange and pink hues of the setting sun were reflecting off of the glass of the window pane of Ino's apartment. Chouji had yet to come home at all today, and Ino had been dutifully waiting for him since noon with all of the dango she had bought. After an hour or so past noon, she had given up, and placed his share in her fridge so that it wouldn't spoil. She wasn't angry at him for coming home late-she understood that it had been a big storm and that there was much to repair within the village, but it didn't stop the longing for him to be with her and the loneliness she was experiencing from his absence. She had been watching TV for several hours now, trying to fill the void and the silence that now filled her apartment when he was gone. It was funny how four days ago this place seemed like home to her, and now it felt like _their _home. Every time Chouji was gone it felt like a prison, or a hospital room or _something._ She didn't know how to describe the place, but she knew the feeling and it was dismal, empty, and overall void without him.

Footsteps were echoing down the hallway, and without fully meaning to Ino lurched upward and off of the couch, her ears straining to see if it was him, coming her way.

It was. She would know that grunt from anywhere!

She ran toward the door right as he was opening it and leaped into his arms, not even giving him a chance to completely cross the threshold. Chouji merely stared down at the angel in his arms in surprise, before he realized what had happed and chuckled, wrapping his arms around her tightly and lifting her up into his arms. Not even bothering with his armor, he kicked the door shut with his toe and removed his shoes with his feet, before pulling her tighter against him and walking with her toward the couch. She giggled as he growled and sat on the Ino-shaped impression she had made on it from her hours of lying on it prostrate, and carefully rearranged her so that she was comfortably resting in his lap. They sat staring at each other for a few moments, trying not to laugh, until Ino finally beamed at him and managed, "So how was your day today?"

Chouji merely raised his eyebrows at her, and she laughed outright, smacking him on the chest. "Hey, I asked first!" She cheekily declared, her eyes shining with a challenge that he dare try to ignore her question.

"Says you!" He chuckled. "I came home today to find you jumping all over me in the doorway like you haven't seen me in years, and then I come in here with you to find the TV on and several Ino shaped indentations on the couch. Now tell me, Miss Yamanaka," he grinned at her now red face, "What have you been doing all day?"

"I've been building up my energy and resting myself in order to get back into tip-top shape, don't you know?" She replied sweetly, which was greeted by a hearty laugh from the Akimichi.

"Sure," he teased, as he pressed a kiss to her forehead and moved her over onto a cushion next to him so he could get up. He made his way into her kitchen and from in there he answered her original question. "It was a busy day today," Ino could hear the sound of her cabinets opening and the soft clinking of glass as he got himself a drink, "Tsunade-sama sent me to the east side of the village-the civilian residences-and there was a great need for shinobi out there today. I was the only one there for much of the day, but Lee, Neji, Gai-sensei and Tenten all showed up about mid-afternoon, and they helped tremendously."

At this point he was walking back into the living room clutching his glass of water and a bag of potato chips. Seeing her staring up at him curiously, he grimaced and said, "I'm sorry, Ino. I wouldn't usually eat before dinner but it was a hard day today, and I need to restore some of my chakra."

Ino only smiled at him and leaned into his shoulder, "Don't ever worry about eating in front of me or here, Chouji. My house is your house." She closed her eyes against his shoulder and smiled peacefully, enjoying his presence.

They sat watching the TV for a little while until the siren's surrounding the area started going off again, and the young couple (being the trained shinobi they are) jolted upright, listening to which siren it was.

"It's the severe storm siren." They both said in unison, and Ino turned to Chouji, frowning, and asked, "but didn't we just-"

"Yeah, but I suppose it is that time of year again," Chouji replied, shrugging, and he moved to stand up again, resting her head against the back of the couch. "I'm going to go make dinner before the storm hits and we possibly lose power." He started into the kitchen, and Ino started after him.

"Before you make anything, Chouji, I bought this dango for lunch-" the Yamanaka girl started, and she opened her refrigerator in order to show him, "but you never showed up, so I just put it in here and I figured we could have it for dinner. I'm sorry if you had something planned, but I really don't want it to go to waste, so do you mind if we eat this tonight?"

"Nah," Chouji smiled, and he pulled a couple boxes out from the top shelf of her fridge, "I love dango!"

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It was only a few minutes into eating their dango that their polite, innane chatter was cut short by the lights suddenly cutting out and the TV screen going blank. Ino's blue eyes were wide in the dark, but Chouji could make out her outline and her face from the faint eerie blue light leaking in from her window. Everything else in the house was dark, but her eyes, her skin, and her presence lit up the dark around them like a beacon, and Chouji's attention couldn't have been drawn anywhere else for the world. She was simply beautiful, and the shell-shocked Akimichi couldn't ignore that fact for anything-not the untouched dango in his lap or the fact that the sirens were wailing once more as lightning flashed outside the windows.

After an involuntary intake of breath-which he could only pray she didn't hear-he started collecting the boxes of dango (using his shinobi senses) in order to dispose of them, but she grabbed his wrist and held it firmly in place, preventing him from reaching anything else. His gaze automatically met hers, and time froze for both of them. Slowly, ever so slowly, he reached his hand up toward her cheek in order to brush his hand against the softness of the skin there, and had to bite back a groan at the contact when skin met skin. Kami, if this was just her cheek, what would happen if…?  
Suddenly Chouji was very, _very _grateful for the darkness of the room, because he was confident nothing less would hide his blush right about now. This embarrassing thought seemed to snap him out of his star struck state, because he shook his head and started to mutter, "Ino, we had better get this cleaned up…"

Her lips were suddenly on his, and she was crawling on top of him, forcing him back into a reclined position on her couch. Her hands were rubbing his chest and his forearms, as her sweet breath tickled his face. Chouji was shocked for a little more than a minute, before he grasped her tightly to him and returned her attentions with as much enthusiasm as he possibly could. Kami, what she could do to him!

She broke away from his lips, panting for air, and he took no time in breaking away from her lips, giving her a chance to breathe, while pressed a trail of kisses down to her collarbone. He groaned when he heard her breath hitch as he kissed a certain spot, and shifted her in his lap to where he could get better access at it before attacking it mercilessly. She moaned and arched her back against him, her breaths now coming in pants as she writhed against him in pleasure, panting his name. He lost all conscious thought the first time she muttered his name in that sultry, lust filled tone he had only _dreamed_ of hearing her use, and he was already harder than he had ever been in his life from only _kissing_ her. He released her after a few more nibbles and licks, and when he did, through the lightning's flash of light he could see the large, irritated mark that was now on her neck before the flash ended and the room once again faded to black. Chouji's breaths were coming in pants, and she could only press herself against him more firmly and snuggle into him, her head on his chest. She sighed happily and shifted against him, but unfortunately her thigh came into contact with his hardened member through their clothing, and her eyelids instantly bolted open, her mouth forming an "O" with shock.

"Chouji, why didn't you-" she started, before she was cut off with a harsh, "It doesn't matter," from him. He pressed her back into his chest with his large hand, and breathed a contented, but worried sigh. He was hoping that she wouldn't notice…

"It does too matter, Chouji!" She screeched, as she sat up on him, straddling his hips, "How could you say it doesn't? You're just as important as I am!"

"No," Chouji barked out a laugh, "I'm not. You don't even understand how much more important you are than me."

This statement worried Ino. How could he say something like that?

"Maybe not to you, Chouji, but you're more important than I am to me. You know that, right?" She asked, her tone perfectly serious.

"Yes, Ino, I understand that perfectly." He answered, completely serious, but she could see in his eyes that he didn't understand-that he didn't realize that he was her everything, and that she loved him more than she loved any outfit that she owned in her closet, any hair dryer she had in her bathroom.

He didn't believe her when she told him he loved her.

Her eyes filled with hurt, and this alarmed Chouji very quickly. Before he could say anything, however, she had stood up and was walking down the hall away from him. He sat up on the couch, staring after her in shock, deciding what to do for a few moments. He heard her sniffle from the other room, and when his mind processed that she was crying, he was up and heading down the hallway to her room in a flash, and at her side _very_ shortly after.

"Ino, what-" The redheaded male started, until he looked down and saw that she was crying, staring at something. Within a second he had identified the object to be a photo frame, and on closer inspection it turned out to be a picture of Ino and himself from when they were kids. Shikamaru had almost always been helping his father tend the Nara clan's deer as a child, so he wasn't around much for the duration of their childhood, even though they had played frequently together-the three of them-as children. The photo had been taken when they were 12-the first day of their graduation from the academy, and their parents had taken the picture. It was the only one they had had of the two of them together specifically, because Shikamaru had proclaimed picture taking at that moment to be "too much of a drag" for him to partake in. Of course, a moment and a slap upside the head later, his mother had dragged him towards the other two for a picture, but they had kept the picture of the two of them anyway.

As Chouji stared at it, he was only filled with shock at her possession of the photograph-let alone why she slept with it by her bedside every night. He had finally realized where he had recognized the familiar frame-when he was here the past few days tending to her during her illness, he had remembered seeing it sitting on her bedside table, but he had failed to examine it closely due to his worry over her state. He had just never noticed it in detail before. It had obviously been there for a while, on her bedside table, but Chouji had to know-why was it so important to her?

"Ino, what's wrong?" He asked gently, his tone pained. He hated to see her cry.

At this she only sobbed harder, and brought the picture closer to her chest, pressing it against her heart even tighter, as if she feared she would die at any moment if she didn't. Her whole body was heaving with sobs, and her frame was shaking from the futile effort of trying to keep them from escaping. Chouji, at a loss and not knowing how to comfort her, managed to wrap on arm around her and pull her into his side, but her sobbing only continued. In a desperate effort to make her stop-because truly, she was making him hurt as well from just seeing her cry as well-he logically deduced that the cause of her tears was the photo. Gently, he moved his free hand toward the frame she was clutching so tightly against herself and lightly tried to free it from her grasp, but her cries only grew hysterical and she jerked it back into herself. Now totally at a loss, Chouji only pulled her into a tight embrace, closing his eyes in regret for not being able to console her and pulled her head tightly into his chest.

After a few more minutes of sobbing, Ino's cries finally started to quiet down, and eventually she reached the point to where her crying had just become sniffles. At this point, and now feeling it was safe to say something, Chouji quietly asked, "Ino, why is that picture so important to you?"

Ino only managed a sound between a laugh and a sob and replied, "Isn't it obvious, Chouji? Really?"

He only stared blankly at her for a few moments, trying to piece out her cryptic statement, before his eyes widened in realization and he could only curse his stupidity. Pulling her tighter against him, he muttered, "I'm so sorry, Ino. I should have-"

"Believed me? Yeah," Ino quietly replied, her face buried into his chest, "but you didn't."

"Chouji, when I say I love you, I mean I _love_ you. I have never said that to any other guy besides you and I don't plan on it. I know I've been a total bitch to you in the past, and I regret that to this day and I will for the rest of my life. I can't tell you how much I hate myself for all of those awful things I said and did back when we were kids, and just how I treated you in general. I was so rude to you and I had no right to be. I've changed though. I really have. I can see you now, not just as a little boy, but as a man, and I love that man that I see. You're kind and sweet, and funny, and you're everything I'll ever want and everything I'll ever need. I don't want to be without you ever again. These past few days I've been waiting for you to come home and my apartment has never felt emptier. It kills me to be without you and I hate it. But do you know what I hate more, Chouji?"

The shell-shocked Akimichi couldn't do anything more but stand there in complete shock and just stare down at her as she lifted her tear-filled eyes to meet his dry ones. "I hate that you don't believe the fact that I love you no matter how many times I have told you in the past few days. Tell me, would you believe me if I told you I have loved you since I was _sixteen_? Because I have. Would you believe me if I told you that my real awakening was right after Asuma-sensei died, and I started seeing everyone around me in a different light, and I slowly started to realize that I loved you, and that I always will love you? Because that's when I did, and I will always love you. It just kills me inside to see you not realize that."

She sniffled again and dropped her gaze from his. With a dry sob, she buried her face once again into his now tear-soaked shirt, and just remained there, breathing in his scent, hoping it would provide her comfort. She listened to his heart beat steadily within his chest, and his steady breathing grow more erratic as he slowly started to realize the truth. Only moments later his arms wrapped around her back tightly and jerked her upwards toward his face. His large hand grabbed her chin roughly and yanked her lips upwards to meet his own in a fiery, passionate kiss. "Ino," he moaned desperately, as he started to rub small circles into her back lovingly, contradicting their passionate, smoldering kiss. He gently nipped at her sensitive neck again, and re-marked her love bite from earlier. She moaned his name appreciatively and he clutched her to him harder and growled, "_Mine_."

Suddenly, he stood up from the edge of her bed and picked her up, carrying her over to her window seat. He set her down gently upon it, and he knelt down in front of her, trying to maintain his control, but very nearly failing already. He leaned up and kissed her tenderly, rubbing his large hands up and down her forearms. As soon as their lips touched, he pulled back, and gazed into her eyes with an undeniable warmth and passion in his eyes. However, a nonspoken question was also apparent, and Ino knew what her answer would be before he even asked it.  
"_Yes_," she moaned out, and she grabbed his face in both of her own and pulled his lips into her already waiting kiss swollen ones.

After that, their clothes started flying off and disappearing into the neighboring parts of her bedroom, until she was pressed flat against the glass of her window as he moved very slowly and tenderly inside of her. The cooling press of the glass against her back and her skin felt strangely contrasting to the sheer heat and fire Chouji was causing from within her body, but the difference in feel only added to the sensation she was feeling now. Chouji was muttering sweet nothings into her ear as he slowly maneuvered in and out of her, touching her in all of the right places and she exploded into oblivion over and over and over from his doing. She could only clutch onto him tighter each time and breathlessly moan out his name each time, and she could feel his tip hit that place inside of her every time. She could feel his breathing pick up even more than it already was, and his thrusting started to get much harder as he forcefully started to grip her tighter, nibbling on her neck as sweat poured down both of their bodies and the windowsill. He moaned in her ear and whispered quietly, asking her to come with him, and oh god, yes, she would come with him as he gave that one final thrust that sent them both over the edge and there was a blinding flash of white light and then…

She was in her bed snuggled up next to Chouji before they both finally fell asleep for the night. He was pulling up the covers over her head as he gently rubbed circles in the small of her back, pressing kisses in her hair. She was so exhausted, and all she could muster up the energy to do was quietly tell him, "I love you, Chouji" before she finally fell asleep. He followed her into sleep shortly after, clutching onto her tightly, with not one inch of space between their two bodies.

The wind was finally dying down from the savage storm that had been blowing outside the window only moments before. Rain and sweat mingled on opposite sides of the panel as they both clouded the view to the dying storm outside. More trees were down and houses were damaged, but there would be plenty of time for rebuilding the village later. Right now, Mother Nature decided, let them sleep. Let them sleep and dream in a world where they could be with one another, and then let them awaken to the storm finally being over, and their dreams now becoming their own reality.


End file.
